Wire-stretcher



(No Model'.)

7 W'. WHBNDRIGKS.'

l WIRE STRETOHER. No'. 577,617. Patented Feb. Z3, 1897.

NiTnD STATES l PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM W. IIENDRICKS, OF BOLIVAR, MISSOURI.

WIRE-STRETCHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 577,617, dated February 23, 1897. Application iiled June 29, 1896. Serial No. 597,414'. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM W. HEN- DRIOKS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bolivar, in the county of Polk and State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful VVire-Stretcher, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in wire-stretchers.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of wire-stretchers and to provide a simple and inexpensive device which will enable a wire to be readily stretched to the desired tension and which will hold the wire in convenient position to enable it to be secured to a post.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a wire-stretcher constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a detail perspective view of one of the clamps, the levers being separated to illustrate the construction of the guides. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the windlass-frame. Fig. 4t is a detail perspective view of the windlassshaft Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

l designates a substantially rectangular windlass-frame comprising sides 2 and 3 and a cross-piece et. The cross-piece is arranged intermediate of the ends of the-sides 2 and 3, the side 2 being shorter than the side 3, and the frame is detachably connected to a fencepost by a chain 5 or other suitable flexible connection, secured to the frame at one side thereof and engaging a hook 6 at the opposite sides of the same. The sides of the windlass-frame are provided with bearing-open ings receiving a Windlass-shaft 7, on which is arranged a rope 8, connected with wire-engaging clamps 9, but instead of employing a rope a wire cable, chain, or the like may be used. The windlass-shaft, which has one end squared for the reception of a crank-handle, is provided between the sides of the windlassframe with perforations l0, in which is arranged the rope 8, and the latter, which is centrally connected with the windlass-.shaft, has its central portion, which extends from one perforation 10 to the4 other, arranged in a longitudinal groove 11 of the shaft in order to protect it from injury and prevent it from being cut or worn by that portion of it which is Wrapped around the windlass-shaft. The rope has its sides or branches reversely wound around the \vindlassshaft, whereby when the latter is rotated one of the branches will be wound around it and the other branch un- Wound, and in winding up one of the branches in stretching wire the other branch is unwound, so that one clamp will always be ready to receive a fence-wire. This arrangement of ropes or cables isalso advantageous in stretching wires which require more than one operation of stretching in order to draw them to the proper tension. Instead of securing a fence-wire to the windlass-frame by a sta* tionary clamp after it has been 'partially stretched, as has heretofore been necessary, and then unwinding the windlass-shaft and arranging the same clutch for a fresh hold and another pull, the second clutch, which is unwouud by such stretching operation, is adapted to be engaged with the wire, and the windlass-shaft may be rotated in the reverse direction, thereby producing a continuous stretching of the fence-wire and enabling the same to be drawn to the desired tension without the loss of time which has heretofore been experienced. The shaft is rotated first in one direction to wind up one branch of the rope and is then rotated in the opposite direction to wind up the other branch of the rope, and

it is provided with a double ratchet-wheel 12 and a pair of pawls 13 and 14. One of the pawls is adapted to engage one of the sets of ratchet-teeth of lthe ratchet-wheel, and the other pawl is arranged to engage the other set, so that the shaft may be locked against rotation in either direction.

v The ratchet-wheel is arranged adjacent to the outer face of one side of the Windlassframe, and the pawls are pivoted at their outer ends to the outer face of the adjacent side of the frame, and either one may be thrown into or out of engagement with the ratchet-wheel.

Each clamp comprises a pair of clampinglevers 15 and 16, connected at their outer IOO ends by a transverse bar 17 and at their inner ends by a pair of rods 20. The rods are connected at their outer ends by a link and are attached to a member of the rope, and they constitute, with the levers 15 and 16, a toggle arrangement and cause the levers to clamp a wire tightly when the rope is .drawn taut. The bar 17 is fixed at one end to the lever l5, and its other end is pivoted to the lever 16, which is provided with a pair of inwardly-extending laterally-disposed guides 21 and 22. The guides 2l and 22 form apair of arms and receive between them the lever 15, which is supported by the guides, and the guide 21 is shorter than the guide 22, so that the levers may be separated sufficiently to enable a wire to be introduced between them without the lever 15 entirelyleaving the guide 22. The inner engaging faces of the levers l5 and 16 are provided with teeth or serrations inorder that theymay obtain a firm grip on a fence-wire, which is prevented from becoming accidentally disengaged from the levers by the guide-arms 21 and 22.

It will be seen that the wire-stretcher is exceedingly simple and inexpensive in construction, that vit is easily manipulated, and that by having the branches of the rope reversely wound around the windlass-shaft one clamp will always be ready to receive a fencewire, thereby obviating the necessity of unwinding the rope from the windlass shaft after the wire has been stretched. Furthermore, it will be apparent that the wirestret'cher can be advantageously employed for mending broken wire in a fence.

What I claim is- 1. In a wire-stretcher, the combination of a windlass-frame, a windlass-shaft journaled on the frame, provided between the sides thereof witha longitudinal groove and having transverse perforations communicating with the groove, a continuous rope or cable arranged in said groove and passing through the said perforations to form two branches,

the latter being reversely Wound around the windlass-shaft, whereby when one branch is wound up the other will be simultaneously unwound, and clamps carried by the said branches, substantially as described.

2. In a wire-stretcher, the combination of a windlass-frame provided at one end with means for connecting it to a post or other suitable anchor, a windlass-shaft journaled on the frame, provided between the sides thereof with a longitudinal groove and having transverse perforations communicating with the groove, a continuous rope or cable arranged in said groove and passing through the perforations of the shaft forming two branches, the latter being reversely wound around the windlass-shaft, so that when the latter is rotated one of the branches will be wound up and the other simultaneously unwound, wire-engaging clamps secured to the outer ends of the branches of the rope or cable, a double ratchet-wheel having reversely-arranged teeth, and reversely-arranged pawls adapted to engage the ratchet-wheel to lock the windlass against rotation in either direction, substantially as described.

3. In a wire-stretcher, a wire-engaging clamp comprising a pair of clamping-levers, a cross-bar secured to the outer end of one lever and pivotally connected to the other, a pair of guide-arms extending laterally from one lever, embracing the other and adapted to retain a wire in position, and a pair of rods connected at their inner terminals to the levers and having their outer terminals connected together, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto afliXed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM WV. HENDRICKS. lVitnesses:

H. L. CARY, M. G. OKEY. 

